Meeting You There
by Fahrenaut
Summary: Brightheart has a nightmare, and Cloudtail comforts her as best he can. // Fluff-filled One-shot


_"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance."_

- Harrison Ford

*~*

**Disclaimer:** _Warriors_ belongs to _Erin Hunter_. The characters do not belong to me.

Inspired by Owl City's _I'll Meet You There_

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**Meeting You There**

_Brightheart felt fear descend upon her. The night was still, and the only thing she was aware of was the erratic beating of her heart. The earth beneath her paws felt like it would give way at any moment; nothing helped her feel better. Even in this place that was supposed to be so familiar to her, she only felt alienated. Everything coated in black, it all seemed dangerous. Her instincts told her that nothing was right anymore; ThunderClan had flipped on its axis and not even their forest was haven anymore. Now, with beasts lurking in the night, they would be picked off one by one. _

_The white and ginger cat heard cries far ahead. She shrank back almost instantly, afraid for her pelt. But the yowls only became more identifiable and clear._

"_Brightpaw!_"

_Her heart skipped a beat. Eyes flying open with realization, she lunged forward, clawing desperately at the ground but getting nowhere. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move, even when monsters with blood on their jaws charged toward her. Brightheart let out a blood-curdling yowl as red blurred her vision. Teeth broke her flesh and she felt part of her own head being ripped away from her. The last thing she could see was more and more dogs raging over, still hungry._

"_Brightpaw!_"

...

"Brightheart!"

Brightheart awoke with a start, her eye opening sharply while emitting a hoarse gasp. The she-cat felt pressure on her side as she tried to calm herself. She quickly became aware of the soft moss cushioning her and the overhanging branches shielding her from outside. She also realized who was around her, and where she really was. Finally coming to her senses, the warrior buried her scarred face into the moss, ignoring the over-hanging presence of Cloudtail.

She remembered how she would normally seek his solace during times like these; back to when the dreams were more frequent and the pain was still fresh. But now she was older, and it had been many moons since the death of Swiftpaw and her crippling. Now it was just embarassing to have to mewl like a kit whenever her dreams did not favor her.

"Brightheart..." Cloudtail mewed softly, concern lacing his voice. Brightheart spared a glance in his direction, immediately regretting it. She didn't need to see the ditraught she was causing him. She lifted herself to her paws so she was in a sitting position and looked at the sleeping forms of her clanmates. At least she hadn't woken _them_ up.

Without looking at her mate, she murmured huskily, "I need some air." Excusing herself carefully, the she-cat skirted around the make-shift nests and exited the warrior's den, relishing the immediate lack of body warmth and open space. It was what she needed to calm her nerves, and she hoped that Cloudtail wouldn't join her. She didn't want to disturb his night any further.

Raising her muzzle to the breaks in the branches above, she saw through those ringlets a starry sky. Looking a little bit farther to the west, silver-highlighted clouds were rolling arcross the heavens. They were threatening to take the moon, and Brightheart didn't like it. Shivering, she padded a little bit further to situate herself in the middle of the clearing.

No one seemed to be out as she glanced around. That was good, for she didn't want for someone to catch her and ask why she wasn't sleeping. Living with others was great, and she was proud to be Clan-born, but she had to admit that the nosiness that came with it could be done without.

"What happened?"

Brightheart supressed a sigh as she gently turned to face her visitor. It was Cloudtail, of course. She opened her jaw to chastise him and make him go back to sleep, but the white-furred tom only came up to her and swiped his tail across her muzzle, silencing her before she could. "What happened?" He repeated, sounding more firm with his demand.

Brightheart shook her head. "It was just a dream. It unsettled me a bit; it's no big deal," she explained, trying to sound flippant.

The amber-eyed cat gave her an unsatisfied look. "Dreams aren't just 'no big deal', especially if they're _your_ dreams."

Brightheart managed to give him an exasperated look, but she had to admit that her mate knew the right things to say. He always did. Although, his persistance right now was unappreciated.

"Look," she started, "it really isn't worth the time..." She trailed off, feeling less and less capable of holding up resistance. The warrior really just wanted for the other to accept her words and just let her be. Brightheart didn't need to be consoled; she just needed time.

Cloudtail seemed to sense a weakness in her defense and attacked there point blank. "Of course it is. I'm here to listen to you. Always."

Brightheart curled her tail tight against her side, letting out a shuddering sigh. She fixed a very displeased look on the tom, but he seemed oblivious to it.

"Was it about...?" He left the question open-ended, finally looking a little uneasy about trying to breach the subject of her nightmare. The ThunderClan cat shared his wariness and nodded, not needing to fill in the details. "... Oh, Brightheart," he breathed, coming to her side and pressing his muzzle to her shoulder.

Her stubborness and shame was telling her to push him off, but her heart won out. She leaned into his touch reluctantly, her eyes closing to take in the comfort of his warmth.

It was quiet for a while. The two had shared all they had needed to say so many times before. Saying it again was pointless, and they knew it. All they had in these sparse, somewhat awkward and hurtful moments were each other, and deep down that's all they needed to return to better spirits. Although, sometimes things needed to be said to alleviate certain things.

"That dream... I have it often. It was worse tonight though. I don't know why, it just was," Brightheart tried to not sound scared or feeble, but a quiver clung to her breath. It was so pathetic to be haunted by such ancient memeories! Especially when they all just wanted to move on.

Cloudtail's breath tickled her neck as he raised his cheek to rest on hers. He coaxed her tail to wrap around his as he meowed, "We all have bad dreams sometimes. Some worse than others, but they're just dreams."

_But mine just happen to actually have occured_, she thought sadly, but she accepted Cloudtail's gentle words and focused only on his body close to hers. Brightheart took back what she had thought about Clan nosiness and wanting to be alone. It would have taken her so much longer to calm down if the white warrior hadn't come to give her company. Memories of when she was back in the Medicine cat's den, desperately clinging to life, came to mind, and she thought about how this moment was so reminiscent to how Cloudtail had loyally stuck by her side. When she had learned that he had been there all along, she had been a little shocked, but mostly touched.

_How did I get so lucky?_

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The two cats had returned to the warrior's den shortly after, and Brightheart had an uneventful sleep with Cloudtail close beside her. Before she knew it, light pooled into the den, turning the leafy-walls and ceiling gold. The brightness coerced her eye into opening, along with most of the other cats. She stretched a leg and then another as the camp began to come to life; Brightheart could already hear the chatter of the apprentices as they prepared to hunt or go on patrol.

Brightheart welcomed this as she turned to the white lump beside her. Purring quietly, she remembered last night and wished that she didn't have to bother him, but it was time for the day to get rolling. Nudging his shoulder with her nose, she ignored the huffing and grunts of the others as they exited the den, still half asleep. The ginger-patched she-cat got up herself, prodding Cloudtail further with her paw.

Sunlight was still leaking into the den and highlighting Brightheart's fur. It warmed her scars and back, making her feel rejuvinated. She didn't know how she could feel so alive when her night had been less than good. The warrior supposed she had Cloudtail to thank, if only he would get up!

Finally, the tom stretched grudgingly and lifted his head. His mate chirruped laughter, amused by how his white pelt always managed to be in such disarray in the morning. Cloudtail knew what she was giggling about and half-heartedly scowled, lazily cuffing her leg with his paw as he stood up. Brightheart guessed that he would take a lot from her so long as she was in a better mood from last night. Thinking about it, she pressed her nose to his chin before retreating shyly. "Thank you," she mewed simply, although a whole lot more emotion could be seen in her remaining eye.

"You're too modest," Cloudtail replied, affection traceable in his tone. After a moment's silence, he added, "But you're welcome."

Brightheart swished her tail contently as the two padded out of the warrior's den. They were greeted with the quiant scene of ThunderClan awakening for a new day. Firestar was just leaving his den, his fur ablaze as the sun blessed him with warmth. Brambleclaw was finishing organizing a dawn patrol, members of the party already assembled and anxious to go. Other cats who weren't apart of it were already leaving to go hunt. Brightheart took a liking to that idea and brushed her tail against Cloudtail's flank. They shared a glance, and they mutually agreed to the activity without a word.

"Where should we go?" the white cat asked as the pair left camp and began their trek into ThunderClan territory. Brightheart mildly shrugged. "You know better than me," she meowed, tilting her head slightly. She _knew_ she had the pleasure of claiming one of ThunderClan's best hunters as hers. There was no doubt in her mind that she shouldn't be the one deciding where to hunt and so on.

Cloudtail seemed about to disagree, but something possessed him to hold it back. "Whatever," he meowed instead, allowing for the underlying compliment to stay unopposed, Brightheart fancied. "I guess we can just see what we find as we go," he finished, picking up the pace to be several mouse-lengths ahead of her. She frowned at the unusual behavior, but she shook it off. He probably just wanted to catch a scent. At least, that's what _she_ did. Opening her jaws to catch any whiff of prey, she was rewarded with the smell of a vole not too far away. Brightheart chanced a glance at Cloudtail, but the tom had disappeared. Not finding anything strange about that, she lowered into the hunter's crouch.

Creeping along silently and carefully on the forest floor, she was graced with seeing the brown creature foraging in the clover. The green clover and clover blossoms made up a small clearing; the plants grew in think batches and spanned about several fox-lengths. They ended abruptly at the trunk of a tree and some bracken. It was a fairly secluded area, and Brightheart had to admire its charm before returning to the duty at hand.

Thankful for the foliage that blocked the sunlight from setting her bright pelt aglow, Brightheart neared her prey. She had to admit that this place was very good; the clovers muffled her paw steps and the vole was none the wiser of her presence because of it. Wiggling her haunches cockily, she launched herself forward... To be unexpectedly bowled over.

In despair, she watched the vole make its escape before turning angrily to the source of her loss. "Cloudtail, what was that for?" she snapped, struggling in his hold. The tom was pinning her to the ground, his weight on her belly. Brightheart tried to push him off with her legs, but he refused to budge. Flustered, she listened to him _mrrow _laughter as he repositioned himself on her; he was standing next to her, one paw beside her head and another hovering over her chest. He seemed pleased with his 'capture' as he looked her in the eye.

Brightheart asked again, "What was that for?" The she-cat was trying desperately not to laugh along with him, because she swore Cloudtail's joy could be annoyingly contagious.

"Mm, I'm sorry to have cost you that vole, but I just had to," he meowed good-humoredly. Brightheart blinked, becoming puzzled. Cloudtail wasn't normally so mischevious. He was usually proud around others and nurturing with her, which didn't include acting like a kit!

"It's... alright. Just don't do it again," she countered. She wanted to sound firm, but only sounded half-hearted in her reprimand.

There was a brief silence between them. Cloudtail still hovered over her, and she still laid stupidly on her back. The fluffy tom seemed to grow more serious as he nuzzled into his mate's neck, pausing only to speak.

"I'm glad you're here."

Brightheart froze, her breath hitching in her throat. "... What do you mean?" she mewed softly, not sure what to think about this sudden turn in the conversation.

"I love you, Brightheart. Don't leave me," he replied, crouching down into the clover and finally letting the cat beneath him manuever out of his hold. She merely rolled over though so that she was on her side and facing the white warrior.

"I love you too, and I'll never leave you..." she mewed, slightly unsure about the situation. Was he depressed now like she was last night? Had she _made_ him upset? "Why--"

"Good," he meowed, lifting his body off the flower bed. When Brightheart looked into his gold eyes, she saw possessiveness. She became at a loss by the expression, but it really did seem to say, 'You're mine, and I'll protect you.' The she-cat's tail twitched, not sure whether to feel agitated or happy. Huffing, she rose to her own paws and padded a half circle around Cloudtail, already confusing him judging by his eyes. In a decisive movement, she knocked him over, enjoying the clover buds tickling her ears and paws.

Cloudtail seemed aghast, but he wasn't fighting her like _she_ had fought _him_. Pinning him down just like he had done her, she meowed, "You shouldn't worry about my capability to stay with you-" the tom looked slightly guilty at this, "-And you shouldn't worry about my dreams. You're here. I'm here. Really... no big deal."

A short silence descended upon them before Cloudtail broke it. "No more nightmares?"

"No more nightmares."

Of course, they knew there was more to it, and that the memories could never really be what they are now: dreams. All the both of them knew they could do was enjoy each other's company, live out their lives, and be proud warriors to their Clan. Maybe one day they'd be granted more blessings, but for now that was all they needed.

Brightheart licked his forehead and purred. Cloudtail returned the gesture to her cheek, purring just as nicely. The two of them enjoyed each other's warmth for a while longer, basking in the sweet intimacy of the rare moment. A bird breaking through the canopies above with a loud call finally ended the silence as Brightheart stood up. Her mate followed suit, nodding toward where the creature had flown. Pelts brushing, they wandered off into the foliage, both of them needing to make up for the vole they lost.

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**A/N: **A short, fluff-filled One-shot with Brightheart and Cloudtail. These two need more love, seriously.

I'm majorly just taking a break from my next chapter to _Rehabilitation. _It's gonna be a long one. xD

But I hope you enjoyed this; it's my second fanfiction in general, so no flames please! Constructive criticism is welcome, and anything else that doesn't involve calling me or this work 'retarded'. Also, this is un-beta'd, so forgive any spelling or grammatical errors.

So, please review~!


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